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CIRCULAR No. 36/2004/TT-BTC OF APRIL 26, 2004 PRESCRIBING THE REGIME OF COLLECTION, REMITTANCE AND MANAGEMENT OF USE OF CONSULAR LEGALIZATION AND CERTIFICATION FEES

Pursuant to the Ordinance on Charges and Fees and the Government's Decree No. 57/2002/ND-CP of June 3, 2002 detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Charges and Fees;

Pursuant to Decree No. 189/HDBT of June 4, 1992 of the Council of Ministers (now the Government) detailing the implementation of the Ordinance on Consulship;

After consulting the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Finance hereby prescribes the regime of collection, remittance and management of use of fees for consular legalization and certification as follows:

I. FEE PAYERS AND RATES

1. Organizations, individuals (regardless of residing inside or outside the country), when having their papers, documents consularly legalized or certified or being supplied with copies of papers or documents by competent State bodies at their requests or as required by law, must pay fees (hereinafter collectively called consular legalization, certification fees) under the provisions of this Circular.

2. Consular legalization, certification fees shall not be collected in the following cases:

a/ Consularly legalizing, certifying papers, documents in direct service of activities of the agencies of the Party, the National Assembly, the Government, the ministries or the ministerial-level agencies;

b/ Where the international agreements which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam has signed or acceded to contain different provisions, these provisions shall apply.

c/ Exempting consular legalization, certification fees for foreign organizations, individuals on the basis of reciprocal diplomatic relations and in other specific external relation cases as decided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

3. The consular legalization, certification fee rates are specified as follows:

a/ Consular legalization, certification of foreign papers, documents for use in Vietnam: VND 160,000 (one hundred and sixty thousand)/time.

b/ Consular legalization, certification of Vietnamese papers, documents:

+ According to form No. 05/HPH, promulgated together with Circular No. 01/1999/TT-NG of June 3, 1999 of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, which prescribes the legalization of papers, documents: VND 15,000 (fifteen thousand)/time.

+ According to form No. 05/HPH, promulgated together with the above-said Circular No. 01/1999/TT-NG of June 3, 1999 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: VND 30,000 (thirty thousand)/time.

c/ Grant of copies of papers, documents: VND 5,000 (five thousand)/time.

II. ORGANIZATION OF COLLECTION, REMITTANCE AND MANAGEMENT OF USE OF FEES:

1. Consular legalization, certification fees constitute a revenue of the State budget.

2. The agencies collecting consular legalization, certification fees shall have the following responsibilities:

a/ To organize the collection and remittance of consular legalization, certification fees strictly according to the provisions of this Circular. To post up or publicize the fee rates at the fee-collection places. When collecting fees, to make and issue receipts to the fee payers according to the Finance Ministry's current regulations on the issuance, management and use of tax forms.

b/ To open accounts for "custody of collected charges and fees" at the State Treasuries of the localities where the collecting agencies are headquartered for monitoring and management of collected fees. Everyday or every ten days at most to remit the whole collected fee amounts into such accounts for management according to current regulations.

c/ To open accounting books for monitoring and reflection of the collection, remittance and management of use of fees according to the current non-business administrative accounting regime.

d/ To register and declare the fee collection and remittance with the tax offices which directly manage them strictly according to the provisions of the Finance Ministry's Circular No. 63/2002/TT-BTC of July 24, 2002 guiding the implementation of law provisions on charges and fees.

e/ To abide by the financial publicity regime as prescribed by law.

3. The agencies collecting consular legalization, certification fees shall be allowed to retain 30% (thirty per cent) of the collected fee amounts before remitting the remainder into the State budget for spending on the fee collection specifically as follows:

a/ Payment of wages, remunerations, allowances to the fee-collecting laborers, wage- or remuneration-based contributions falling under the employers' responsibility according to regulations. Where the units enjoy funds from the State budget to pay wages to their officials and employees on the payrolls, they may only pay remunerations according to the prescribed regimes to outside laborers (if any) who are hired to collect fees.

b/ Expenses in service of the fee collection, such as office supplies, telephone, electricity, water, working-trip allowances, official-duty allowances; printing (purchase) of declaration forms, permits or other forms according to current norms.

c/ Expenses for regular repairs, overhauls of assets, machinery, equipment in direct service of the fee collection.

d/ Expenses for procurement of working equipment and tools and other expenses directly related to the fee collection.

e/ Deductions for the reward funds and welfare funds for the units' officials and employees personally engaged in the fee collection. The average annual level of deductions for these two funds shall not exceed three months' actually paid wage if the collected amount is higher than that of the previous year and be equal to two months' actually paid wage if the collected amount is lower than or equal to that of the previous year.

The agencies collecting consular legalization, certification fees must manage, use the fee amounts they are allowed to retain for the above-said purposes only, with lawful vouchers, and annually settle the revenues and expenditures according to the actually arisen amounts. After being settled according to regulations, the retained fee amounts not yet spent up in the year may be forwarded to the subsequent year for continued spending according to regulations.

4. The remainder (70%) of the collected consular legalization, certification fees must be remitted directly by the fee-collecting agencies into the State budget according to the relevant chapter, category and clause. item 049, sub-item 08 of the current State budget index and wholly channeled into the central budget.

5. Annually, the agencies collecting consular legalization, certification fees must draw up fee revenue and expenditure estimates and settlements, send them to the superior management agencies, the finance offices and the tax offices of the same level, and the State treasuries with which they have transactions.

The settlement of consular legalization, certification fees shall be effected at the same time with the settlement of the State budget. Tax offices shall settle the collected amounts according to receipts, the total collected mounts, the retained amounts, and the amounts to be remitted into the State budget.

Finance offices, tax offices shall settle the expenditures from the fee amounts the units are allowed to retain according to the provisions of Point 3, Section II of this Circular.

III. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. This Circular takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

2. Organizations, individuals being payers of consular legalization, certification fees, the agencies collecting such fees, and the concerned agencies shall have to collect or pay such fees according to the provisions of this Circular.

3. In the course of implementation, if facing any problems, organizations and individuals should report them to the Ministry of Finance for study and settlement.

For the Minister of Finance

Vice Minister

TRUONG CHI TRUNG